No. 5 Maryland came to Columbus hoping to avenge its only Big Ten loss since joining the conference – instead No. 7 Ohio State doubled that total, downing the Terrapins 94-86 and taking sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 24 | 23 | 28 | 19 | 94 |
| Maryland | 19 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 86 |
The Buckeyes lit it up from behind the arc in the first half Monday. Four players hit a 3-pointer, led by Kelsey Mitchell and Ameryst Alston who each had three. As a team, Ohio State shot a ridiculous 8-12 3-three point range before the intermission.
There was a lot of this in the first quarter from @am_bam14. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/2dLUzUfbE6
— OSU W Basketball (@OhioState_WBB) February 9, 2016
We've also seen a lot of this from @Kelz_Hoop. #Buckeyes are lighting it up from downtown. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XMUIaX0IU0
— OSU W Basketball (@OhioState_WBB) February 9, 2016
At the other end of the court, the Buckeyes wreaked havoc defensively. The team forced a staggering 13 Maryland turnovers.
Despite the sharp-shooting and the pesky defense, Ohio State found itself up just 7 at the half, as Maryland dominated the boards. The Terrapins owned a 27-12 rebounding differential over the undersized Buckeyes.
According to Alston, the staggering rebounding disparity was the result of a lack of effort. "We're looked at as being undersized and everything, but this is want to – it's who wants the ball," said Alston. "That's definitely effort."
In the second half, however, Ohio State simply dominated.
The Buckeyes never cooled down from behind the arc, shooting 12-23 from 3-point territory on the game. The offense wasn't limited to jump shots, either. Maryland had no answer for Alexa Hart in the post, as the sophomore put up 13 points in the second half alone.
Maryland star Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was effectively shut down by the Buckeye defense. The All-American candidate averaged 35.5 PPG her last two appearances – Monday she managed just 14.
While Walker struggled offensively, the Buckeye stars did not. The high-powered scoring combo of Kelsey Mitchell and Ameryst Alston combined for 55 points – Mitchell finished with a game-high 33 points.
Perhaps most importantly, Ohio State closed the rebounding gap. After getting out-rebounded 27-12 in the first half, the Buckeyes were out-rebounded by just one in the second.
Maryland scored a few garbage time points to make the score close, but make no mistake – Ohio State controlled this game.
“I thought we played a heck of a game, our effort and our energy was sustained for 40 minutes," said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff on his team's performance. He called it "overall, probably our best game to date."
With the win, the Buckeyes take sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings and are in great a great position to win their first regular season conference title since 2010.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, any Big Ten Championship was going to have to run through College Park, because of what (Maryland) has accomplished,” said McGuff.
The Buckeyes have now faced the Terrapins twice and beaten them on both occasions, possibly signifying a changing of the guard in the Big Ten.
"(Ohio State) has obviously kind of taken over where we want to be," said Maryland head coach Brenda Frese on the team's two losses to the Buckeyes. The Terrapins are undefeated against every other Big Ten team, but have now dropped two straight to the Scarlet and Gray.
The team will undoubtably enjoy the win, but there's no disillusion in the locker room – the team knows there is still plenty of work to do.
“I think the biggest thing coming out of this is we should certainly enjoy this win for tonight, but we won one thing tonight – a game versus Maryland," said McGuff. "We still have a bunch of games left and the most important thing becomes our next game at Iowa.”
The Buckeyes take on the Hawkeyes on the road, Thursday as they continue their journey towards a conference championship and possibly more.
McGuff again reiterated – all focus is on March. “I think we’ve got everything we need, we just have to keep getting better. Our goal was to be at our best in March, and we aren’t there yet.”
With how the Buckeyes looked Monday, they may be close.
